I completely agree with you about the part where she talked about beating the Japanese girl. I was at that battle. There is no way (in my mind and 25 year career) she won. She got away with that one for sure. (Also not her fault) (also also you can watch that on line) it was stupid judging decisions. But there was one qualifier here in Aus to get to the Olympics. And from the footage I saw she won. It was a 9 person international judging panel. A few reputable names I know from over seas on the panel and she was the best Bgirl on the day. I was on the outskirts of the whole process here in Aus. And unfortunately without the girls stepping up. I think our whole Oceanic region would have got left out. The qualifier was last second. The info was difficult to get. You had to be registered with 2 or 3 organisations. (Again not her fault) and no one knew what was really happening. But she was the best on the day. And she stepped up and took on the role for the grater community. We all knew she wasn’t on the top tier level. But what can we do here in Aus. There is zero funding and infrastructure. We’re a million miles away from the big comps and scenes. The country is big and hard to get around and has a small population relative to its size. Plus’s no one ever gave a toss about breaking in this country till the Raygun memes came out. The Olympics was a building block to build the scene and get connections. No one would have ever thought this would be the biggest story in the world for over a week. There is no way in the world anyone could have seen this coming lol.
Wow! Thank you so much for this amazing information that puts soooo much into perspective. A lot of what we’re seeing makes sense given what you’ve elaborated on here. And her tongue jut makes 100 x more sense knowing that she probably knows the win was wrong. Wow! Thanks again 🤗
It's like the swimmer from a country in Africa that 'qualified' but was left for dead when in the Olympic heats. The crowds cheered him, but we shot Raygun down (like Aussies often do 😔)
@@TheBehavioralArts the qualifiers were made hard to reach and difficult to understand registering to give her an advantage over everyone else. Proper fraud and embarrassment
@@sarahanderson3897I can comment on this since Im from a country that finds it difficult to qualify for Olympics. They give us Universality slots just so your country can be represented in the Olympics and swimming is a hard sport where if you fail you get left out and people cheering is more of support and acknowledgment pushing through to finish the event, I believe there is a huge difference with this and then someone from the a country which has such huge Olympic history it's disgraceful for this to happen. Referring back to the Universality slots that are given to such countries like mine we have swimmers who swim well but if you don't meet the Olympic standard it don't matter you don't get it. Australia has a huge representation and she apparently qualified for this by winning a tournament somehow. That is not right I hope you're getting what I'm trying to say
Aussie here 🦘I honestly thought that her performance was a comedy stint for entertainment until I realised that it was for real and then I felt second hand embarrassment.
it's like entering a cooking show and saying "what I focus on is getting the ingredients ready and chopping. I don't do the putting the ingredients together and applying heat part that you would associate with Jack over here"
That's what I thought we were witnessing 🤣 Genuinely thought they had done a random draw of a name from the audience to let them 'have a go', a competition being the first breakdancing competition at the games. She even looked like a spectator in that silly uniform which just struck me as an excited fan get-up. Imagine my surprise when I realised she was indeed the actual competitor.
The best part of the Olympic competition was her trash yawning while her competitor was breaking then she proceeded to show the skills of a fish thrashing in the bottom of a boat.
Hahaha yeah I’ve really been cringing as much at her reactions as the actual dance because there’s an air of confidence and belonging to them that is… misplaced.
From the BBC, "at an Olympics qualifying event in Sydney last October, where 15 women from across Oceania competed, Raygun emerged triumphant and booked her ticket to Paris." Just imagine if she hadn't gone and one of those other 14 losers she was better than had been there...
I believe she is a narcissist. She and her husband blocked good dancers from attending the tryouts. She defrauded the Aussie taxpayers and they're asking the authorities to investigate. The petition had 50k signatures as of a week ago.
The truth is she has a massive ego because her so called friends and family, never have told her anything negative! Never have told her that she really sucks, maybe should try something else, they were all happy to encourage her and tell her how amazing she is and would have seen her performance b4 she did it at the Olympics. Instead of watching her and being a real friend by telling her that you can't do that, it's really bad, trying to prevent her from being embarrassed and hated by the world and an entire country truly hating her, that's what a real friend or family member would have done. Instead they knew she was going to be so bad, they were ok with what was going to come next. Her EGO is huge to the point she truly believes she is amazing at what she does, because her whole life she has been told how good she is, she has been lied to and false support because that's what society is now days, anything negative is not acceptable even if it's what someone needs to hear!
Can you imagine somebody wanting to compete in the hurdles race… But instead of going over them they go around them… And then say, I know my hurdling isn’t strong about jumping over the hurdles, but I have good running form and creativity, so I go around them. (?)
Now this might be the most perfect analogy re: what this woman did & why it's so damn infuriating that she took a spot that she didn't deserve, when it's been proven that there several really talented breakers within the breaking community that actually does exist in Australia. Unsurprisingly, many of them claim they had no idea ANY qualifying competitions had been held. The fact is, it's so freaking obvious that nobody on any of the qualifying committees made any meaningful attempts to get the word out that they were holding qualifiers in breaking for its OFFICIAL debut as an Olympic sport in Paris. I don't think it's a leap, at all to believe that the lack of effort to find more deserving candidates, was a conscious, deliberate choice. I will never believe that this woman & her husband didn't exploit the system in one way or another to ensure that she was on the 2024 Australian team.
There’s nothing wrong with her break dancing. What she was doing in this video did take some ability, flexibility etc. It was simply not worthy of an Olympic placement. I was hoping this was a giant troll on her part cuz I have to admit that would’ve made some people laugh at least. I have no idea how she was convinced nor by who that she was legitimately ready for the Olympics, but sadly she ended up accomplishing the opposite of her goal, cuz she looked like a total fool out there.
Here's the thing that I think most people find offensive: She knows that she's not as good as the other competitors at the facets of break dancing that require skill and strength, but SHE STILL THINKS THAT SHE BELONGS JUST BECAUSE SHE REALLY REALLY WANTS TO. That's the problem with her and so many other people. They want the acknowledgement and recognition WITHOUT PUTTING IN THE WORK.
@@nicoibanez2725 it got her a trip to Europe with expenses paid, as well as her "coach", her husband, (because the other coach wasn't good enough for her), and now they're on a 5-week tour of Europe
@@chadjcrase I was going to ask how Matt and Trey would be able to parody her? She already did it to herself? How much more would they have to embellish and would it even be possible? Lmao
@@j.y.3604 You may want to look into the history of the Olympic Games and what has been included at various times. Its a wild list. This isn't some U.S. Conservative Gotcha Moment.
@@j.y.3604 Breakdancing is no joke, it is extremely athletically demanding. She made a mockery of it and she highlighted how easily the IOC can be gamed. She did her community a huge disservice and I hope she feels very real consequence for her actions. I think her academic credentials should be revoked as she breached the trust and used her position to gain an unearned advantage, she deserved to be fired from her teaching position as she is clearly not a person of integrity. None of those things should take away from the value of breakdancing however.
@Cyril29a she got her trip with expenses paid to the olympics, as well as a trip for her "coach", her husband, and that allowed them to initiate a 5-week tour of Europe and save some money. She got people to talk about her and, in the process, crushed some kids' dreams
When I first saw her break dancing, it was like I was being punked. I know others have said it was like watching SNL, and that's 100% true. I feel she was pulling off one of the biggest Olympic stunts ever! She got her 15 minutes, for sure.
I believe the international negativity towards RayGun isn't purely based on how bad her performance was...it's her attitude afterwards. Many athletes at the Olympics came in last or struggled to finish and people cheered them on because the athletes were sincere in their efforts, and failures, and had humility. The American 4x100 relay team that lost badly and got disqualified knew they screwed up and accepted their failures so they can improve. They have been roasted by the media, and you know what they DIDN'T do - they didn't act like victims or say they were trying something 'different' in the sport. Diver Alison Gibson who got zero points when her foot hit the diving board knew she messed up and said she will "keep fighting" to get better. Diving fans love and support her! In light of her zero-points performance and numerous controversies surrounding the Oceania qualifier, RayGun has chosen to take a more grandiose and frankly arrogant route by refusing to admit any mistakes. She said she was just being "different" and "creative". She has a PhD in Breakdancing yet didn't show any of the fundamentals of the sport - basics she would know. The 'sexism' word is being used now to describe the dislike she's getting, which is a misguided cop-out. The other Olympic b-girls are getting praise and support from the same people. Raygun admitted after the event she knew she wouldn't be able to compete against the younger opponents at the games. That in itself is a massive red flag! Regardless of the sport, the Olympics is about competition between the best worldwide who dedicate their lives to their sports. I agree she should not get hate or threats, however, if she can show some humility and acknowledge that the breaking community, and its roots in poor Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in NY, feel disrespected, that would help change the narrative.
Omg. I have been calling her performance a participation award. She and her supporters are saying “she tried her best” as an excuse for the performance and that no one should be judging her for it. You don’t get a participation award at the Olympics. You need a certain skill level that she simply doesn’t have. I think that she was arrogant to try to get into the Olympics. It would be like if I was trying out for a swimming event at the Olympics. I can swim but I am not an extremely good swimmer. If somehow I got chosen and enter the Olympics, people would be making fun of me too. I would not belong there. Criticism of her performance is not bullying. She opened herself up for criticism when she entered the Olympics.
If you met all the criteria and were selected to go to the Olympics then you deserve to be there. There is a much broader purpose to the Olympics than just winning.
@@thesammyjenkinsexperience4996 Competitions have a primary purpose of finding the best competitor. So winning is actually THE prime goal when competing. I know that recently society has had this push where we pretend everyone is the same and we all get a medal regardless of performance or skill, but that sociological drivel goes out the window in an international competition to see what country can win the most gold medals.
@@NiaPgn Neither did the interpreter. In this case I had no clue there was an issue because I know nothing about break dancing. But Spidey does know and it was instantly obvious to him. And maybe everyone but me. But then I am old...
I'm glad you shared her interview, but lets honest, her belief of her skills shouldn't matter. If a person persuades their way into the Olimpics, something went horribly wrong.
It's too coincidental that she has written a PhD thesis called 'Deterritorializing gender in Sydney's breakdancing scene: a B-girl's experience of B-boying'. She was obviously chosen for some DEI reason.
Oh absolutely! That’s exactly the problem with a scoring system that is vague and subjective. There’s no tangible and objective measure to say “you’re not good at this!”
Excellent video. Love the way you broke it down so a boomer could understand. At the end of the day this was peak entitlement. Sweet young lady but she let ambition get in the way of reality.
I don't think every country has to participate in every single event in the Olympics. If you don't find someone in your country who can remotely qualify for an event, it's OK to skip the event instead of getting embarrassed in the world stage. Also I'm really baffled how Au botched the opportunity to get their top break-dancers into qualifying, shame!
Australian here, I was not impressed by her performance. I thought it was quite embarrassing. I don't understand how she made it into the Olympics at all. From comparing her to the other dancers she is no where near the level they are.
@@Shadowcat31 What? Where did you come up with that story? She qualified fair and square by competing in several events, sometimes being at the very bottom and other times in the top.
@@andreascj73 You typically don't qualify for the Olympics by being a middling-tier performer. Usually, we expect the people who consistently get top scores to go instead of those who sometimes get lucky with subjective judging and sometimes get last place.
@@Shadowcat31That's not true at all, stop spreading misinformation. It was an American ball room dancing association that oversaw all the breaking events. Nobody contacted Raygun to organise anything. It breaches the competition laws in Australia to have some one participate in an event who is organising it.
@@carissaf6909 ok, everyone let's just all calm down, I read that information awhile ago from what I THOUGHT was a credible source, since then many articles have come out telling the REAL story and I haven't had a chance to catch up with it yet. You're right, what I originally posted was incorrect, I read up on it more(which is why it took me so long to reply to this) and see that info was wrong. My bad, I am more than willing to admit when I'm wrong and I appreciate you checking me and informing me. 😉
Preparing food and cooking it isn't my forté, but I'm really good at finding the most unusual and colorful ingredients. People don't like the taste, but you cannot deny the excellence in my specialty areas.
#1 - I'm convinced Australia is just trolling the rest of us...😂 #2 - There should be no place on that stage for this nonsense. It was incredibly disrespectful to the entire hip-hop culture, to those with real talent, and to other Olympic level athletes.
I speak for Australia and we want nothing to do with her or this mockery. As a big sporting nation taking this as an insult doesn't truly express the current mood
There's been a whole lot of trolling going on lately. It comes from the top. I guarantee you someone knew what they were doing. There's no universe where stuff like this just happens by accident. There would've been countless chances for them to realize their "mistake".
@@jessie1697she was representing her country and even though she wasn’t good, i saw another video with an explanation, it was important to have the representation. I didn’t get it at first but i am ok now. Other dancers, better, much better than her, also got zero points.
A thing that really bothers me and that hasn’t been addressed is that she is comfortable calling herself a professor. In Academia, there are levels of Professor positions: -Lecturer (anyone with a masters degree can apply to become a lecturer. It is not a permanent position and they don’t get to pick the classes they teach, she does not have professor status AT ALL. They’re only expected to teach a class) -Assistant prof (that’s where you start when you get a permanent position in academia and get hire as a prof. You’re expected to teach AND do research AND participate to conferences AND write articles/papers/books) -Associate prof (you’re permanent permanent and do the same as assistant profs, usually they will also create their own class and/or lab/chair) -Full prof (highest level of academics, same as before but you’re more advanced in your career and a well established researcher) She is a LECTURER. She is trying to pose as someone she isn’t both in academia AND on stage. Seriously. Friends who are lecturers would NEVER call themselves PROFESSORS honestly, you know the system. You’re not a professor.
@@BenStrickland-fj4bc Yes...the "I'm a gurl, I'm breaking barriers" and the Swift Kickback that criticizing her is misogyny tell me everything I need to know about how she got where she is.
Listen, I’m black person from the soul city of the US and I have no rhythm. I can’t talk about anyone and would rather listen to Irish folk dance than hip hop. I didn’t even know there was a breakdancing category. I casually watched her and had immediate secondhand embarrassment and thought the Olympics were doing a spoof. I was like, “why the Olympics messing with breakdancers, that’s so mean.” Then…I realized…she was serious and I was slack jawed with horror. It’s like the Ethiopian woman who got in track and field and was as slow as a snail 😂😂😂 that’s why everyone needs a black friend, they would have been like, “baby, god didn’t bless you with that so go sit down.”
Im a white mum from Australia, and I totally agree with you. We have a comedy duo "Kath and Kim" over here, and it suspiciously looked like Kath at the Olympics. Google kath n kim kath dancing. I found out two days later it was not satire and I was just as shocked. She def needs a black friend ❤
Am white Aussie, here, and i agree with you completely. If you look up margaret bland dancing, on youtube, you will see what i thought she was doing. Its a spoof on our awful dancing from thirty years ago. Oh, we all need black friendssss.. plural. Or we die of boredom. Enjoy watching margaret bland! : ) . We also have very talented dancers here. They should have been in Paris , not raygunn. All a bit suss..
This woman being "creative" with breakdancing is like going to a guitar competition, smashing your guitar into a drumset 77x, shitting on the guitar, then saying "bet you've never seen someone do that with a guitar before 😎".
As an Aussie, we were so proud of the David and Goliath effort of our athletes coming 4th on the medal tally, only for it to be overshadowed by this 36 year old child which embarrassed the nation.
Don't feel too bad. Australia always shines at the Olympics. As a child. I assumed the Aussie population was similar to the US. When I found out it was about the same as Florida, I was stunned. It's truly amazing how strong of a showing Australia puts up at every Olympics. Ray Gunn is the exception that proves to the rest of us that Australia isn't just a medal producing machine and you have mere mortals like the rest of us!
Indian here, we always have this psychological PTSD when it comes to going against the Aussies due to all the heart breaking loses in cricket finals. But this lady has clearly given a fresh perspective. This lady has somehow purged two decades of psychological advantage the Baggy Greens had methodically built against the Indian cricket fans. So on behalf of India 🇮🇳 , thank you Raygun 🙏🏾
My partner is always saying, "We need to have an Olympics where average people try to do the thing that the professional athlete is doing so that people get a baseline for how hard it actually is," and I think this did exactly that. If anything positive came out of this whole debacle, it is that people have walked away with more respect for breakdancing than they have had in years.
This may have some relevance if Rachael had attempted the 100m Freestyle Final, but this is not a sport anyone knows, nor cares about. As an Aussie, I still love Eddie the Eagle and I didn't even see him. 😄
No I don't agree. We are not fools. We don't need to see AVERAGE people do anything. I've never ever looked at a serious competitive sports person who has worked their way up and thought mmmm maybe I need to see an average person try to do 5 back flips, twist in the air etc to PROVE the athletes are QUALIFIED. You can resesrch a certain discipline of course but suggesting what your suggesting is a ridiculous argument . Your partner sounds as ridiculous as RAYGUNS performance.
What was she even talking about? She has no style, musicality or creativity either. The sprinkler is not her move. She is not good at ANYTHING related to breaking.
She is just indulging in her contemporary dance training while gaslighting the non-breaking community. Also, even though breaking is not that big in Australia, the judges at the qualifiers have a lot to answer for. This is proof that something isn't right with her qualification for the Olympics ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kKxuHpIV8k0.htmlsi=qic5PsWalfBCUs9N
@funkitup2660 I don't see how she is a dancer at all. Her movements are awkward, and she has zero grace. Contemporary dancers execute unconventional movements but with grace.
She scored zero points...that's zero break dance points. That means she literally did not break dance... she didn't get 1 point for 1 break dance move. Australia should be asking themselves, "WTF was that? Who approved this to represent us....."
To clarify (and as Spidey points out), there wasn't a scoring system for breaking like there is for say figure skating where moves are awarded points. Essentially each match was a 1v1 battle with 3 rounds and an odd number of judges would vote for who won the round. For example, if there's 7 judges maybe 6 judges would vote Red and 1 for Blue. When they say she scored "zero points" it actually means that she got 0 votes in 3 rounds. In all 3 rounds, the judges unanimously voted for her opponent. Still embarrassing, but not quite as embarrassing as "she literally did not complete one single thing that qualified as a breaking move".
its actually votes. so its binary 1 or 0, if a judge thinks you are "better" than your opponent this round, they give you 1. she scored zero votes out of 54 total chances (9 judges x 3 opponents x 2 rounds each opponent) As for the 5 judging criteria in Technique, Execution, Vocabulary, Originality, Musicality, she is "better" 7 out of 270 times (9 judges x 6 rounds x 5 criteria) in terms of percentage. eg. +2%, +1.6% meaning slightly better. So in breaking scoring, its about relative comparison, not out of 10 marks or out of 100. but still she isn't better than her opponent 97.4% of the time, so the skill gap is just too big.
Raygun at the Olympics left me feeling upset (and not only because of the second hand embarrassment) but I couldn't explain why. All I could say was it "wasn't breakdancing, breakdancing had a look/feel/beauty that you recognize. That wasn't breakdancing." and couldn't really explain it beyond that. You're breakdown helped me understand what I've seen and why her performance felt so empty. Thank you very much and excellent video.
Olympics was rigged. The judges was attacked by a kung fu kangaroo. they are biased against Australians, if this was held in Australia we would have won
No, a Simon Cowell should have been part of the committee responsible for the selecting of the people who would represent their country in the Olympics. Her performance was shameful but it happened only because she was allowed there.
Watching her break dance felt like more of an SNL skit, than an Olympic performance! Sorry, just keeping it real. I'm more impressed she holds a doctorate and is a professor, than by her "break dancing". Thanks for the great "break down", Spidey!
A doctorate doesn't mean anything more than you can regurgitate what you've been told and will toe the party line. All institutions are corrupt at this point.
I too thought it was a skit or games volunteer steeping up for some comic relief, like a ball boy or girl playing at a tennis match. It’s a real shame that the Breakdance debut and now swan song has been overshadowed by this deluded individual who clearly had no place in the Olympic Games. I believe that she knew exactly what she was doing.
I just can't get my head around how Raygun even remotely got NEAR the Olympics. Have you seen the skills of breakdancers on the subway in New York? HEAPS, HEAPS, HEAPS, superior. It's disgusting she got that far. Embarrassment. In five years she'll write a book on how she trolled the Olympics.
I was thinking the same thing---Plus, I wonder who she's related to, if ya get my meaning. I live close to inner city of Chicago & we hv dancers in my city that are FAR more skilled, creative and *truly awesome* to watch...
Exactly this!!! I saw a NY breakdancer who was literally pop locking while doing a handstand! And for her to act like she doesn’t understand why the world is outraged!? She knows very well what she’s doing and she got away with it with the officials but the world sees through her antics
The AOC doesn't want to admit they caused this. They didn't inform people in advance from disadvantaged communities, and this privileged woman with a doctorate, a nice paying position were in the know and just swooped in because there was no real competition. The AOC wasn't going to admit that better disadvantaged dancers didn't have enough time to get funds for a passport and what not.
@@Shadowcat31 That part of what you said has been debunked. Her and her husband didn't form the breakdancing group. It was debunked days ago. The part that is correct is that dancers who were much better didn't know ahead of time. They should have let people know months in advance, but they didn't. She and her husband knew, and she had just enough talent to compete and win since there was only a few people there.
Let me start with, I've been a dancer, ballet , modern, ballroom dancer. I've studied in these different fields for years. I cannot imagine entering a ballroom competition without having the skill of the foxtrot, or waltz, but I won anyways. Not possible. Ballet, not possible to enter without having the skill to complete pirouette. But hey, I entered for fun and to inspire. Not possible .She did say she went for, fun and to inspire. Mission accomplished . We are all having fun, and definitely inspiring. It's like, wink wink, competitive sports is not about breaking world records, hundreds of hours if not thousands of hours of training, most of these Olympic athletes started their sport as young as 8 years old. Money is sacrificed, childhood playtime, friends sacrificed, years of being on the road traveling to events. Many move to different countries, schools, states for their sport. But for her, at 37 years old, questionable rankings, how she climbed through her more recently acquired sport, openingly explaining she has not developed needed skills. Her arrogance was apparent, her lack of skills shined. She's an embarrassment to the culture she imposed herself in. I love watching the strength and skills of b-boys and b-girls. Those dancers with true skills is fun and inspiring. Not her.
I definitely agree that it's a shame that someone more qualified (ie, someone with any skill at all) could have been there but wasn't. However, I genuinely don't think she was arrogant - I think it was more the Dunning-Kruger effect at work! While she acknowledged that her skill level was not the highest, she really seemed to believe that it wasn't the lowest either, and that she had enough skill to actually earn a spot in the Olympics. Edit: and I share your second-hand embarrassment at seeing her insert herself into a culture. 😢
Meanwhile, there are probably hundreds of people in Australia who should have been able to compete for her spot in the Olympics. Ones who could actually Break Dance.
That’s been my main thought. Feeling bad and angry for the actually good Australian break dancers who were passed over so SHE could go. She’s made a joke out of all of them.
were they actually passed over or did they just not register to compete? I don't know, enlighten me. I felt sorry for her because she actually believes she was Olympic quality....her performance wasn't up to par to even the kid breaking on the street corner...sadly
Apparently her husband and her were key in getting her the spot if her husband was a judge ?? There was a bit of shenanigans going on and her husband was in on it.@@caver6292
I’m a Kiwi - across the “ditch” from Australia. People from other countries sometimes mistake our accents. I’m gonna carry my passport in future so I can PROVE this WAS NOT MY COUNTRIES FAULT!!
I understand what you're saying, but I just want to add to what you said--you recognize that you don't have certain abilities, so you don't pretend to do those things...but she wasn't "pretending," she genuinely believed that she could do this. What's at issue is not that she was pretending, but rather, the huge discrepancy between her actual skill level/ability and the standards/expectations that come with performing at an Olympic level. To the chagrin of many, she didn't have that kind of awareness to foresee just how unexemplary her performance would be on the Olympic stage.
@jl9336 I agree, I also think she has way too many people around her telling she is amazing and also letting her get away with not being good and not wanting to hurt her feelings instead of just being honest. I've seen many women be amazing at break dancing, so I don't understand why they let someone with no talent through to the Olympics. There have to be more qualified women out there.
I'm Australian and embarrassed of her corruption in entering the Olympics in an unaustralian way. She stole the spotlight of someone who worked hard to deserve it.
Can I just say that I believe your whole life has led up to this moment. Seriously, I cannot think of another person that is so wholly qualified to do this critique and breakdown. It’s like the kid inside you is saying “yes! I KNEW my breakdancing obsession would come in handy one day!” I haven’t finished the video, but am already so impressed with the assessment. 😊
Haha thanks so much. You’re right about that feeling, I was definitely thinking “ha!!! Never thought idd need to combine these two passions like this!”
That poor lady is going to have students bunny hopping through the hallways for weeks to come. I think she is intellectually fascinated with breakdancing, but she is definitely not a breakdancer skill wise. Baffling how she made it to the olympics considering her competition. Thanks for the great analysis!
Intellect and intelligence are different...the former is "heady" and the latter is "ready"......one comes out of experience-won knowledge via engagement.
In Australia the media is pushing the narrative Stop the Hate . Noone is hating , just having an honest opinion about what is acceptable talent for the world stage,the Olympics.
Why doesn't anyone talk shit about the worst women's soccer/basketball team? Because brands support those sports. So much hate coming from the baseball, karate and cricket communities, which have a whole industry to stand.
Raygun's performance at the Olympics *is the best win for boomers (and other generations that missed out on the breakdance scene) since colour tv. Making "dad" dance moves an actual Olympic game....* No longer they’ll remain silent when gatecrashing at a daughters party.... from now on, the phrase "dad, you're embarrassing me" will be followed with: *_"I'm so good i could compete in the next Olympics!!!_* and it will be all heartbreakingly true. 🥺
It's odd that a university professor can't figure out that she is not good enough, especially a self-proclaimed paid expert in the field of break dancing. It sort of highlights the detritus that has infiltrated our top institutions
I would blame American Idol and its ilk over academia. And she's not a professor. Professor is a job title. She's a lecturer/instructor, which is not a permanent, tenure-track position. They're contracted employees with no long-term investment in the university and vice versa. Not that that has any bearing on the stark fact that she's an acute case of a problem that is not rare in her generation, which is an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. (I say that as a former university lecturer who taught these generations.) Not defending her at all. Just saying she's part of a larger societal tendency that doesn't have much to do with academia, but you sure see it online and on TV all the time.
I am seeing her performances for the first time and I’m dumbfounded. I so much appreciate the way Spidey handles this with professionalism and his kindness toward the performer while not making excuses.
You're... commenting under an event where literally just the best get invited (except some exceptions) and only a few of them get "trophies" (medals). And regarding a person that literally got nothing (but memes). I really hate to say it, but: Ok, boomer.
If one defines creativity by doing the same thing as everyone else, then the breaking competition is the least creative sport there is. But most sport isn't about creativity. Also, the music was entirely the choice of the DJ.
The real question is how she was allowed into the Olympics. I’d like to see the body language of the officials that allowed her in explaining their decision.
She really did win her spot, but the talent in the competition wasn’t very good. She’s simply not strong enough or experienced enough to be there. So - she lacks athleticism and made poor choices for her “creativity”.
Exactly what I was going to say. Something’s hinky. If the qualifying wasn’t organized by someone she controls how could she possibly qualify? I agree Olympics needs to have specific moves they gain points for like figure skating. Why wouldn’t it?
@@danedralin8064 No, she was not the organiser of the Australian qualifiers, and her husband wasn't on the selection panel. These are not facts, they are blatant lies.
@@mizzury54 You can say that for literally any sport. "The whole point of swimming is speed and stamina" - that doesn't warrant it being in the olympics!! "The whole point of shooting is precision and focus" - that doesn't warrant it being in the olympics!!
exactly, and the creativity and musicality is suppose to show in how the athleticism, power, and moves are presented...how can this woman have an academic career in studying breakdancing and get that aspect ass backwards 🥴
The empathy, compassion and rationale you provide is beautiful. I wish the whole world could absorb this presentation, because these are the concepts that help us all to understand and treat each other better. It all goes back to humanity and our constant struggle with imperfections despite good intentions.
@mark123655 The problem is that AusBreak, who hosted the qualifying “competition,” almost certainly didn’t even know where to go to find the best breakdancers in Sydney, let alone all of Oceania. They weren’t really in the culture and probably didn’t know where to even start to get to the events and competitions where young dancers go. These sorts of things aren’t so easy to find with a Google search. Instead of doing the work informing the dance scene about the Olympic opportunity (hint: talk to Asian kids) they volunteered themselves as the “experts” and their own small circle of dancers ended up being the competitors, which was fine with them. Raygun was, in their minds, the right person because of her extracurricular “academic” work playing at being “in the culture.”
@@AbsentMinded619 Not sure if they'd reached everyone, but certainly other people in the scene on Insta knew about it based on other people who is have looked through the history. And ultimately you can only select from those who show up. There was also 45 days notice of the Oceania Champs (not 11 as some of the online tripe has said) and it was held in Sydney CBD, not some difficult to get to place. It's also a difference between breaking casually, and a scored and judged competition where the focus might be different. And it wasn't like the trials where the first organised tournament. Raygun had won one before and placed up there in others, but had also placed 60+ in an international comp.
Imagine an airliner pilot saying on the intercom that he's glad to have you as a passenger and that he's not good at calculating fuel and landing, or not as good as the stewardess is at it😂😂😂
I tried breaking last year. It was so hard! I could do a couple of freezes but no power moves. The crew of guys that was teaching me were so athletic, strong, flexible, and talented. Their moves were so clean and fast. Raygun is sloppy, slow, and unathletic. She could'nt even hold clean lines with the sprinkler
Break dancing is athleticism first, and "dancing" second. I have never seen a good break dancer who wasnt athletic, the moves they pull off would break my joints at this point D:
When I was young, someone with no talent / accomplishments who acted this entitled would have been made fun of (shamed). It's how human society used to mediate itself & maintain standards of behavior. We seem to have eliminated that tool, which may be why we are sinking so quickly past Idiocracy and into depths never previously imagined.
@@Anna_Keythe weirdest thing is that she is a Dr of cultural studies and lectures at a university in Australia - she just became her next lecture on cultural moments!!
I just wanted to commend this behavioral artist in adding more of his research & personal experience with breakdancing. Loved his edits to show different types of break moves & their advance levels. Really appreciated his refusal to bully her, yet he gives a possible answer for why Raygun performed sub par. Thanks for this deep dive video.
I thought she was an Olympic employee like a cleaning operative or something having a laugh. Couldn’t believe it when realised she was a competitor. Comedy Gold. 😂
I know that this is off-topic but I remember reading about that banana taped to the wall. It was sold three times, each time for $120,000. The banana was replaced every few days by the museum curators so that there was always a fresh one. But it was also eaten twice. The first eater was a performance artist whose act of eating it was in itself a work of art. The second eater was a student who ate it "because he was hungry", as he explained. In both cases, the museum didn't file any charges because no financial damage had happened: the banana itself was not intrinsically valuable. The people who bought it bought the concept of the art, not the banana and duct tape itself. But because of these incidents, they had to add more security guards to protect the banana from such assaults. Finally it was removed because they started to fear that people would accidentally damage the other pieces of art around it. What a mighty banana! (This was a really good and interesting video, BTW. I just got sidetracked by the banana.)
It was really nice to watch this, because as many others, I don't know a thing about break dancing. I could tell she didn't do the same stuff, and she looked like an ordinary person trying to imitate break dancing, but I really appreciate that you brought your knowledge of the sport and explained both the behaviour as well as the sport to us. Thanks for always staying mindful that there's a real human being on the other side of the camera. Enjoyed this video!
I think the fact that break dancing is an art before a sport is what makes her feel that she can pass a lack of skill and athleticism off as "creativity" or just a difference in style. She also seems to think that her knowledge of the art/sport and her status as an academic on the subject gives her performance greater credibility. The problem is that these ways of thinking don't hold weight in the context of competing on an Olympic level.
But, she doesn't even TALK like a breaker! For someone who wrote their college thesis on the topic, I and claims to be breaking for over 10 years-I havnt even heard her refer to any moves by name- like she doesn't know them....
Love the analysis! Basically she said, “I can’t breakdance, but I’m gonna fake it on the Olympic stage and no one will make fun of me.” Plus, the previous judges didn’t know what they were doing. That baseline should have lost her every competition.
Wow. This is the first video from you that I've seen. I wasn't sure what I was getting into when you started talking but you deserve a standing ovation for the time and effort that you put into this. This was an absolutely stellar overview of her body language that was done with respect and integrity. Consider me subscribed.
I’m one of the lucky ones who happened to watch her performance live because it’s been hard to find it again. I think they have been taking it down. I asked the exact question you vocalized, “How is this at the Olympics?”, and “How was she considered Australia’s best?”
No, NBC has had tight control over all videos. Ozzy man has a review on his sub stack. You can get there by going to his channel here on youtube, looking under the Community post, and taking that link
Or some people totally lack morals that they don't see what they're doing is wrong. She probably thinks she's justified using taxpayers money to sightsee Europe because she's the only one who have thought of such schemes
I can't help but feel sorry for all the other people who competed for a chance to go to the Olympics but didn't make it because they chose to send her instead. I do feel bad that she's getting so much hate, but I can't understand how she thought this was going to go any other way.
She's not getting HATE. I'm so fed up with people using that word for ANY type of criticism. She's a spoilt entitled brat. If I'm employed by a company to do their accounts but I've ZERO skills in accounting and lied and used connections to get a position and the companies accounts are EFFED up I get fired and rightfully so. I don't accuse my boss or the company as HATERS. I just suck at the job I was hired to do. That's life. It doesn't matter what context its in. I don't feel remotely bad for her. She's selfish and destroyed more talented people's chance to be there. She should be ashamed of herself. Society needs to stop forgiving absolutely SHOCKINGLY BAD BEHAVIOUR. Just like you can't be a little bit pregnant you can't excuse this in a "oh well " type of talking. She is obnoxious end of story
It’s now a disgrace to the country. For all the Australians making excuses for Rachel take it to the grave that they are now disgraced by selecting Rachel to lead them at the Olympics. Australia won a lot of medals but this is what they will be remembered for
This is a really great video. Love the science and analytics absent of the assumptions. I love how you assert that nothing is absolute here in this analysis- it allows for people to actually learn something and to think critically.
It felt clunky. It felt like what one would expect from any random 30-something who got drunk and decided to try break dancing for the first time ever.
Breaking reminds me of the gymnasts on the pommel horse - it's serious athleticism! Imagine a total beginner, a class 3 beginning gymnast, stepping in among those world class gymnasts and expecting to be accepted and celebrated, then being angry when everyone doesn't cooperate.
The sad thing is there is another Australian breakdancer in Australia who is far more skilled that missed out on a chance to represent their country at the Olympics. This really highlights a failing in the selection process.
@@megag52 I don’t know the scene at all and don’t follow it. I just knew that Raygun could not possibly have been our most talented breakdancer in the country. I knew there must have been someone who was more talented who missed out. I just Googled Molly Chapman and watched a performance and in my opinion she is far better than Raygun across all the aspects breakdancing is judged by as outlined by Spidey.
This is a narrative that keeps being pushed but fact is both Molly and Gunn competed in an international event and Gunn came 64th and Molly came 79th (out of 90). Actual breakers i have seen critique the qualification battle say that Gunn legitimately beat Molly due to better perfected techniques and creativity albeit acknowledged that Molly's moves were more complex.
Performance in terms of trying to pull a fast one on Australia. And the AOC is screwed up by not informing dancers way in advance. That's typical privlege thinking when Breakdancing comes from the streets. It reaks of racism.
She is getting everything she wanted and more! She’s now the most famous female breakdancer ever and one of the most famous, or infamous, Australians. Definitely one of the most well known Olympic competitors of the 21st century.
If she can accept that she is terrible, this can be the best advertising she could ask for with a new career. She could get paid big bucks to BE the life of the party/entertainment as she ‘breakdances’. Everyone would laugh and relax and then the dance floor would be full because everyone would think: “If she is okay with dancing like THAT, then I can dance too”.
Yup, it was all attention seeking stunt. "Im most spoken person in Olymbics". Those 2 who were in finals were amazing dancers and they should get the attention and praise.
The fact that the media is telling everyone to stop saying things because she gave it a go pisses me off. She wasn’t there to give it a go. She’s not in high school. She chose to perform on the world stage where the best of the best go to be judged the best. What was she thinking knowing she can’t do it. There were others -I have heard that couldn’t afford to travel and not enough notice. Honestly we should have just pulled out of the sport for women. Or made a better effort to find someone who can actually do it.
The Japanese Guest was 106 years old. The tryouts for the Australia Olympics was rigged. It was posted only 2 days before the event, and most talented dancers either didn't have the funds or time to get there, or didn't even know about it until it was over. Just Raygun and Molly were the only two privileged ones to attend, and between the two Molly was actually better, but some how they picked Raygun, which was a farce to begin with. I guess the term "Fake it 'till you Break it" is how she got there. She's been a grifter holding a victim card, and she got what she deserved. Now she's using the rest of her taxpayer grant to travel Europe with her husband/coach who's also a terrible break dancer.
She truly believes she earned the right to compete on the world's stage. Narcissism is a mental illness and if you showed her footage of her performance against a superior athlete she would not be able to discern the difference. It's like a small child seeing a familiar character drawn badly, they don't see the distortion because their frontal lobes are still developing. If they still can't tell the difference in adolescence it's time to call a specialist.
AYUMI was in the Olympics and is 40 years old. See won 2 battles in her group but did not go onto the quarterfinals. See is not 106 years old. The event was posted about 6 weeks before it happened, not 2 days. Aus Breaking does not receive a lot of funding, so they did what they could with the funds they had. The first year after it was announced the Australian government gave them $10,000. It when up two $275,000 over two years which sounds like a lot, but have a think how much it costed to fly in nine international judges alone for the event. Molly does not have good foundation, although she has gotten better. People who don't understand breaking just look at the power moves and judge of that, not understanding how it is scored. Raygun was first out of 15 others. The other breakers were not that good. Showing how poor the breaking community, particularly for females in Australia is. Yea, the taxpayer did not pay anything for this, IOC allocated the money to get people to the Olmypics. Amazed how much in a single comment you got wrong.
